


Joys of the Multiverse

by chinchillasinunison



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crack, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 04:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20501132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chinchillasinunison/pseuds/chinchillasinunison
Summary: Steven and Greg fuse.(I wrote this pretty much right after "Change Your Mind" aired, and since the movie crushed my headcanon for this fusion I figured I might as well post it anyways, at least to get a giggle about how wrong I was.)





	Joys of the Multiverse

His body trembled as he observed his hands, his singular pair of hands that parted to show a singular pair of legs in ripped jeans and teal sandals that were just a touch too big. At his feet were the guitar, ukulele, and Steven's pink flip-flops. His breathing grew gradually more ragged as he processed what just occurred.

Steven and Greg had been jamming together at the lighthouse, for no other reason than how they enjoyed the view from the cliffs during golden hours, when the orange sunset skies kissed the dark ocean and everything in the world felt as it should be. They strummed their instruments and danced and sang and laughed when one tripped over his words. The atmosphere was light and fun and above all comfortable. It reminded Steven of his younger, more innocent days, back when his mom wasn't an intergalactic fugitive, when the Crystal Gems were just mysterious, magical ladies he just happened to live with, and he didn't get held captive in space and almost die every other week. True, things had settled down now after Steven patched up relations with the Diamonds, but after everything he’d gone through life was never as simple as it was only a few years ago.

That's why Steven got so lost in the moment, spending time with his dad, goofing around, just like old times. That's why he didn't notice his gemstone glowing as the two came together, back to back, performing their little improvised tune. They hadn't even seen the flash of light that accompanied it, since their eyes were closed at the time.

“Steven! Dad!” he burst, one barely taking pause for the other. His voice was strange, it had the slight roughness of Greg's from his days of power ballads and dream chasing, but a juvenile spunk as well.

He held his face with his hands. Greg spoke through him, anxious, “Ooooh, I’ve never had a great record with this magic stuff…”

He could feel his component's worry, that unease of trespassing in an unfamiliar domaine. His stomach burned and his frame still shook; his breathing, however, began to slow. Steven’s own experience settled the fusion somewhat.

“It's okay, it's okay, it's okay,” he told himself, “This is just a… a normal father-son bonding experience. Kinda. It's cool. I-I'm cool. I'm just…”

He held his hands over his heart, over the star on Steven's shirt, that layered oddly with Greg's tank top, like a weirdly snug crop top.

“We're a lot closer together now.”

A beat of quiet, then he snorted at the silliness of the observation. Of course they were closer, he wouldn't exist otherwise! It quickly grew from that to a chuckle, and then to a full-fledged laugh. It was a brassy, tenacious sound, so powerful that he held his sides. He flopped on his back into the grass. When he finally caught his breath, he sighed with fingers intertwined over his chest, watching the sky turn pink. He looked to the foot of the hill, from this position he had to angle his head upwards, flipping the landscape and the van parked there upside down. Seeing Greg's van reminded him of the world outside himself.

“I gotta tell someone about this!” he shouted, shooting straight up. The trepidation was gone, replaced with unbridled excitement. He dug into his pocket and pulled out Steven's phone, tapping Connie's contact and putting it to his ear.

“Hey Steven, what's going on?” she greeted after a few rings.

“Connie! You need to come over right away!”

“Steven? Is that you? You sound weird,” she observed, “Do you have a cold or something?”

“I'm alright, I'm alright!” he assured her, “I've got something I've got to show you! Meet me outside the lighthouse! Hurry!”

“You got it, Mr. Universe!” she signed off playfully. She ended the call and he snickered through his teeth.

Connie arrived as quickly as she could. Since it was almost dark when she got the call, she packed a bag for an impromptu sleepover. When her dad dropped her off at Steven's house she made a mad dash to the other side of the Crystal Temple.

She noticed Greg’s van parked there, but didn’t think much of it. “Steven!” she bellowed towards the top of the hill, “Steven, I’m here now! What do you want me to see?”

No one answered. She couldn't even see anyone up there.

“Steven?” she asked, much quieter this time around.

Suddenly, the back door of the van flung open. Out stepped a man, heavyset and appearing in his late twenties. He had long, wavy dark brown hair and a bushy goatee, and his outfit had touches of both Steven’s and his father’s. He swung his arms out theatrically.

“Ta-dah!”

Connie stared at him, eyes wide. Her duffle bag slipped from her shoulder and dropped to the ground, unnoticed. Soon, a smile sprouted on her face and her eyes sparkled.

“Steven!” she exclaimed, running up and giving him a hug, “You fused with another human!”

“I know!”

“That’s incredible!”

“I know!”

“I’m so proud of you!”

“Same here, sis!”

They giggled together and sat down on the edge of the van floor. Connie kicked her legs restlessly.

“So, how do you like being you so far?” she addressed the whole fusion.

He reached for the back of his neck, “Well, I’ll admit I had my doubts at first… a lot of them, actually... but, really, this rocks!”

“Yeah, the first few times are little…” she glanced off, “...interesting, but you get used to it.”

The fusion said nothing, only nodded.

A thought struck Connie and her legs froze.

“Oh, hey! I forgot to ask you, what do you want to call yourself? Steg? Greven?”

“Blegh!” was his reply, lolling out his tongue.

“Yeah, they do sound pretty bad,” she confessed, chuckling. “Do you have any ideas?”

He looked up at the sky again, now a rich dark purple and dotted with millions of stars. He clutched the fabric of his shirt, of Steven's star.

“I'm two Universes for the price of one, aren't I?” he said at last, thoughtful, “Why don't we try Multiverse on for size?”

She squinted at him knowingly, a tiny smile on her face, “Oh, I see what you did there. Clever. I like your style, Mr. Multiverse.”

“It has a nice ring to it  _ and _ it's a corny pun. I really outdid myself this time.”

Connie laughed, “What do you mean, ‘this time?!’ You’ve only existed for, what, an hour?!”

“Hey, you can  _ totally _ outdo yourself if you haven't done anything before, ya know! That's called setting a benchmark!”

Connie sighed and shook her head. “I guess you're right, technically…” she admitted.

Their gazes wandered to the twinkling stars and they stayed there for a bit, both quiet.

“We should show the Gems,” Connie said finally.

They gave each other a synced nod and an affirming grunt.

When they arrived at the beach house it was quite dark and empty, which made sense, since the Crystal Gems didn't really live there.

“They must be in their rooms,” Multiverse figured, plopping himself on one of the stools by the kitchen island, “They'll come out some time, though.”

Connie reached for something at her shoulder, and looked surprised to find nothing but air. “Aw cripes! I must've dropped my bag by the van! I'm gonna go get it, don't tell the Gems without me!”

She rushed back out the door.

Multiverse, by his lonesome, leaned his back against the countertop and sighed, the stool standing precariously on two legs, angled forward. He looked down at his shirts again.

“Are you still okay with this, really? We can stop whenever you want...” he mumbled to himself. His brow wrinkled. “I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm… I'm having fun, man, really. We should stop sweating it.”

The gate to the temple parted, and out walked Amethyst. Immediately, she made a beeline for the fridge and started rummaging through for snacks. She didn't even notice him at first as she took out the milk carton, chewing the tab like a starving raccoon. Then, he coughed for attention and she looked over her shoulder.

“Aaay…!” he said, shooting her finger guns.

She blinked at him a moment, her face surprisingly nonchalant. Then she turned towards the temple and yelled, with the same unfazed expression, “Yo, Pearl! Some creeper dude broke in and put on Steven's shirt!”

Pearl, the fretful, motherly rock she was, somehow heard this from the ether that separated the temple's metaphysical rooms. The gate opened again and she ran out wielding one of her many swords, frothing at the mouth.

“DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM, PERVERT!” she shrieked, looking ready to slice him in half.

Multiverse fumbled off his seat, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Cool your jets, ladies!” He lifted Greg's tank top and showed them Steven's gemstone.

“Oh! Steven!” said Pearl with a smile on her face, dropping the sword as if it were nothing.

“Hey, Ste-man, looks like you got a lot better at shapeshifting!” observed Amethyst, ripping off the top of the carton with her bare teeth. “Congrats!” she said between gnashes.

“Oh, come now, it's obvious that he aged,” Pearl rolled her eyes, “Though it is a bit sudden, he has matured a lot these past 8 months…”

“Wait, you really can't…?”

Connie walked back into the house with her bag, the sight of Amethyst and Pearl stopping her in the doorway.

“Aw, did you tell them without me?”

“They haven't guessed,” he informed her, “You have the honors, dudette.”

Connie's grin spread ear to ear. “Guys, Steven and his dad fused!”

Pearl gasped in surprise and Amethyst dropped the milk on the kitchen floor.

“Yoooooo!”

“Oh Steven, that's wonderful!”

The temple gate opened a third time, and Garnet popped out.

“Did I hear somebody say the F word?”

Multiverse showed off his gem again and winked at her. Garnet beamed and clapped her hands together.

“I'm kinda surprised you guys couldn't tell…” he looked between Amethyst and Pearl.

Amethyst shrugged, “Dude, let's be real. You basically just look like an older Steven.”

He crossed his arms and pouted, “Come on, I'm a little bit different. Steven wouldn't have a goatee.”

Everyone else, Connie included, shook their heads and made little dissenting statements despite his protest. Multiverse frowned a little, but it was all in good humor.

“So what are ya gonna do now, man?” Amethyst asked.

Multiverse spread his arms out wide. “I don't know! I honestly didn't think I'd get this far! Maybe get a donut or something?”

Garnet walked up and put a hand on his shoulder, “Well, whatever you choose, make sure it adds up to a good experience, alright?”

He gave her a thumbs up.


End file.
